


Walking around on dirty feet

by mlraven



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Humor, Pre-Canon, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-18 15:50:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17583803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mlraven/pseuds/mlraven
Summary: Their first assignment as rookies, Rosa and Jake somehow end up stuck sharing a bed while investigating a jewel thief in a sleepy Long Island town.





	Walking around on dirty feet

**Author's Note:**

  * For [brutti_ma_buoni](https://archiveofourown.org/users/brutti_ma_buoni/gifts).



> Happy Chocolate Box, bruttimabuoni!
> 
> Thanks to booksareourlove for the excellent beta!

Their first case as rookies, and they’ve already fucked it up. Somehow, the ‘simple’ assignment has landed them in a tiny Long Island town, subtly poking around for clues on a local jewel thief. They’d gotten a tip that the thief returned to Long Island every weekend to have lunch with his grandmother, so now here they were, headed to Shirley, New York for the weekend to look for any suspicious old ladies wearing diamond necklaces.

In the car, Rosa concentrates on the road while Jake chatters, flicking through radio stations. 

As he rapidly jumps between  _ Die Hard _ , Brooklyn graffiti, and pizza rolls in the same breath, she tries to tune him out by fantasizing about all the ways in which she could make stranding him by the side of the road look like an accident.

He moves onto musing over their destination seamlessly. “What kind of town name is ‘Shirley’? Maybe it’s a good omen, like, ‘Shirley we’ll solve this case in two shakes of a lamb’s tail.’”

Rosa doesn’t reply.

“Tough crowd,” Jake says, turning back to face forward.

He manages to keep his verbal diarrhea to a minimum for the rest of the drive, and Rosa stops trying to burn a hole in the pavement with her glare.

  
  
  


When they get in, it’s late enough that they can’t start investigating until the morning. The tiny, overpriced motel—  _ “Real Ocean Views! Steps to the Beach!” _ — only has one room available, with a double bed. The bored teenage attendant hands over the key, and they walk down the windy plank ‘hallway’ to their door.

Rosa unlocks the door and Jake pushes past her, dumping his bag on a chair and exploring their musty room with unnecessary, childlike delight. The bed has a shiny, polyester comforter over it, its beige floral print managing to make the motel seem even dingier than it did before.

At least the room has a spacious floor.

Rosa takes the bathroom first. While Jake takes his turn, she inspects the bed. She unpeels the comforter to reveal an even more questionable set of muddyish-brown sheets beneath. She wrinkles her nose but gets under them, lying flat on her back.

When Jake comes back out, he walks over the bed and grabs the other side of the comforter as if he’s about to try to get in the bed.

Rosa tilts her head up slightly and stares flatly. “You should take the floor.”

“Nah, it’s too hard,” he says cheerfully, throwing himself onto the mattress and making the springs creak alarmingly.

She continues to stare in disbelief as he wriggles around, trying to get comfortable in the lumpy bed. Eventually, he stills, and it becomes clear that he’s dead to the world, with no intention of moving.

She lies flat on her back, cutting her eyes at him as he starfishes, mumbling indistinctly.

It takes a long time for Rosa to fall asleep.

  
  
  
  


At some point she must fall asleep, because the next thing she knows, the sun is in her eyes and someone’s cold toes are poking her calf.

Her eyes snap open and she sits bolt upright, immediately seizing on the person responsible. Somehow, Jake has managed to kick off the comforter, leaving his feet exposed. In their unconscious quest for warmth, his feet have somehow decided that the best place for them is under Rosa’s half of the blankets.

Jake is still asleep, occasionally smacking his lips.

Enough of that; if she has to awake, he has to be awake.

She whacks the pillow next to his head. “Get up, Peralta. The sooner we find this guy, the sooner we go home.”

His eyes jolt open as he snorts, flopping his head around until he locates Rosa, her glowering face hovering above him.

“Gah! Rosa, what? I’m up, I’m up!”

Rosa swings her legs out of the bed, snagging her bag off the chair. “I’m going to get dressed. If you’re not ready by the time I’m done, I’m leaving you behind and taking the case alone.”

Jake blinks, still trying to process. By the time he’s woken up enough to object, she’s already vanished into the bathroom.

“Shit,” he says, “Is she kidding?”

He looks around; all of Rosa’s stuff has vanished, like she was never there. “She’s definitely not kidding.”

  
  
  


Years later, after Jake and Amy married, Jake tells Amy the story of how he and Rosa ended up sharing a bed during a case.

He expects her to find it funny, but she doesn’t. Instead, she listens with a dawning look of horror, silent until he finishes, “...and then we followed him to his stash and dragged him back to Brooklyn to answer for his crimes. Man, good times.”

Amy gapes at him for a moment, then abruptly stands and crosses over to Rosa’s desk.

Jake trails after. “Babe, I don’t think I’ve ever heard you speechless, except maybe when you met Justice Sotomayor. Are you okay?”

Amy ignores him, addressing Rosa. “It has come to my attention that my husband once made some questionable decisions due to his general immaturity. On behalf of his social ineptitude, I want to apologize for the fact that he insisted on sharing the bed with you. I’m sure he’ll never do it again.” She looks at Jake pointedly. “Right, Jake?”

Jake nods earnestly, a hint of confusion wrinkling his forehead. “I won’t do it again, Rosa. But wait, why was it questionable for your random coworker to insist on sharing a bed instead of— ohhhh, damn. Wow, I was really oblivious!”

Amy and Rosa share a look, before Amy turns back to Jake, laying a hand on his arm. “All I’ll say is, there’s a reason that I didn’t want to go out with you when we first met.”

Rosa crosses her arms, leaning back in her desk chair and tilting her chin up to stare at him. “Yeah, it was only weird because I didn’t know that you’re harmless like a little retriever puppy. And your feet were cold.”

Jake beams. “Aww, thanks, Rosa! Labrador retrievers are my favorite dogs. And sorry about the feet; Amy makes me wear socks to bed, now.”

Rosa shakes her head. “Nevermind. Comparing you to a retriever is an insult to dogs. Arlo could run circles around you, and he’s much better at cuddling.”

Jake gasps, half-faux-offense and half-incredulous excitement, but before he can reply, Amy has grabbed his hand and is pulling him away.

“Did you hear that?!” he asks her in a gleeful stage whisper as she tows him toward the elevator. “Rosa just said she  _ cuddles  _ with her  _ dog!  _ Agh! No one will believe me if I tell them!”

Amy pats Jake’s hand consolingly as the elevator door close.

“Yes, dear.”

 

 


End file.
